Ideally, a radio frequency (RF) signal received by a receiver in a wireless communication system precisely matches the RF signal transmitted by the transmitter. In real world situations, however, the transmitted RF signals are distorted due to the response of the channel that carries the RF signals. For example, transmit power levels, distance, multi-path effects, etc. may affect the channel response which, in turn, may affect the transmitted RF signals.
To recreate the data contained in the transmitted RF signals, a typical receiver includes a channel estimator that attempts to reverse the adverse effects of the channel response upon the transmitted RF signals. This channel estimator is typically trained using known data, called pilot symbols, which are inserted into the RF signals. The recreated data may be evaluated with respect to the known data to determine an estimate of the channel response. The channel response estimate may be used to attempt to accurately recreate the data contained in subsequently transmitted RF signals.